The hospital had been unusually noisy all day. The halls were crowded with patients moving in and out, voices blending together with the distant beeping of machines and the hurried footsteps of overworked staff trying to keep up with the constant flow of emergencies. Over the past few days, the workload had been overwhelming. Winter had settled harshly over the region, and with it came a surge of illnesses—colds that turned severe overnight, frostbite from careless exposure to the snow, fevers that refused to go down, and patients who simply couldn't handle the bitter cold.
It had been nonstop.
Stretchers rolled through the corridors. Doctors argued over charts. Nurses moved from room to room without rest, barely getting time to drink water, let alone sit down. Even the waiting area had been packed since morning.
It was exhausting.
